Israeli PM vows to 'dismantle' Hamas, 2nd phase of war underway as Gaza cut off from outside world
Phone, internet blackout in Gaza causing major problems for hospitals, aid groups
The latest:
- Israeli PM says military now in second phase of war against Hamas, aims to free hostages.
- U.S. and Canada warn their citizens to leave Lebanon, as Israel strikes at Hezbollah military infrastructure.
- Israel carries out most intensive attacks yet against Hamas targets, expanding ground operations.
- Israeli military spokesperson urges residents of Gaza to immediately relocate south.
Israel is now in the second phase of its war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas, ramping up a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an address to the nation Saturday night.
Netanyahu said the Israeli Defence Forces have deployed throughout Gaza.
"It will be long and difficult," he said. "We are ready."
Netanyahu referred to the conflict as Israel's "second war for independence" and vowed Israel will not surrender nor withdraw from Gaza until its goal of eliminating Hamas is complete.
"We want to dismantle Hamas and bring hostages home," Netanyahu said, shortly after meeting with families of some of the more than 200 people being held as hostages in Gaza since the Hamas-led attack on Israel three weeks ago.
More than 1,400 people were slain in Israel during the Oct. 7 attack, according to the Israeli government. Among those killed were at least 310 soldiers, according to the military.
The escalation brought more domestic pressure on Israel's government to bring about the release of hostages seized by militants in the Oct. 7 attack, amid concerns they were being held underground.
Desperate family members who met with Netanyahu said they supported an exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel, a swap floated by the top Hamas leader in Gaza.
Netanyahu told the nationally televised news conference that Israel is determined to bring back all the hostages and maintained that the expanding ground operation "will help us in this mission." He said he couldn't reveal everything that is being done due to the sensitivity and secrecy of the efforts.
He lashed out at criticism of the Israeli offensive, and relentless bombardments of the Gaza Strip, saying any accusation that Israel forces are committing war crimes is hypocrisy.
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During the same conference, defence Minister Yoav Gallant signalled a gradual ramping up toward what is expected to evolve into an all-out ground offensive in northern Gaza.
"Last evening, the ground shook in Gaza. We attacked above ground and underground," he said. "The instructions to the forces are clear. The campaign will continue until further notice."
The military released grainy images Saturday showing tank columns moving slowly in open areas of Gaza, many apparently near the border, and said warplanes bombed dozens of Hamas tunnels and underground bunkers.
The underground sites are a key target in Israel's campaign to crush the territory's ruling group after its bloody incursion.
Overnight into Saturday, warplanes struck 150 tunnels and underground bunkers in northern Gaza, the military said.
Gaza's health system 'totally paralyzed'
Gaza's besieged people had barely any communications with the outside world on Friday. Phone and internet services were cut as Israeli jets dropped more bombs.
Israel's chief military spokesperson declined to say whether Israel was behind the telecommunications blackout that hit Gaza on Friday, leaving the besieged enclave largely cut off.
Asked whether Israel had knocked out cellular services at the start of the ground offensive that began on Friday night, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said, "We do what we have to do to secure our forces for as long as we must, temporary or permanent, as much as we need to and we will not say anything further about that."
The Palestinian death toll in Gaza on Saturday rose to just over 7,700 people since Oct. 7, with 377 deaths reported since late Friday, according to the territory's Hamas-run Health Ministry.
A majority of those killed have been women and minors, the ministry said. Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra told reporters that the disruption of communications has "totally paralyzed" the health network.
An estimated 1,700 people remain trapped beneath the rubble, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which has said it bases its estimates on distress calls it received.
Some civilians were using their bare hands to pull injured people from the rubble and loading them into personal cars or donkey carts. In a video posted by local news media, Palestinians sprinted down a street with a wounded man covered in the dust of a building's collapse.
Some Gaza residents travelled by foot or car to check on relatives and friends. "The bombs were everywhere, the building was shaking," said Hind al-Khudary, a journalist in central Gaza and one of a few people with cellphone service. "We can't reach anyone or contact anyone. I do not know where my family is."
Rescuers forced to chase sound of explosions
As part of the stepped-up bombardment, Israel also knocked out communications and created a near-blackout of information, largely cutting off the 2.3 million people in besieged Gaza from contact with the outside world.
The Palestinian telecom provider, Paltel, said the bombardment caused "complete disruption" of internet, cellular and landline services.
Residents had no way of calling ambulances, and emergency teams were chasing the sounds of artillery barrages and airstrikes to search for people in need.
Already plunged into darkness after most electricity was cut off weeks ago, Palestinians were thrown into isolation, huddling in homes and shelters with food and water supplies running out.
With no electricity, no communications and no water, many of those trapped in Gaza had little choice but to wait in their homes or seek the relative safety of schools and hospitals even as Israel expanded its bombing early Saturday.
Lynn Hastings, a UN humanitarian co-ordinator, posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that without phone lines and internet, hospitals and aid operations would be unable to operate.
The Red Crescent said it could not contact medical teams and residents could no longer call ambulances, meaning rescuers would have to chase the sound of explosions to find the wounded. International aid groups said they were only able to reach a few staffers using satellite phones.
The World Health Organization on Saturday said it has not been able to communicate with its staff in Gaza.
"WHO appeals to the humanity in all those who have the power to do so to end the fighting now, in line with the UN resolution adopted yesterday, calling for a humanitarian truce, as well as the immediate and unconditional release of all civilians held captive," the organization said.
On Saturday, Elon Musk said that SpaceX's Starlink will support communication links in Gaza with "internationally recognized aid organizations."
Musk said in a post on X, which he also owns, that it was not clear who has authority for ground links in Gaza, but we do know that "no terminal has requested a connection in that area."
Lebanon takes precautions
Israel's military said it had stopped a surface-to-air missile fired from Lebanon at one of its drones and struck Hezbollah military infrastructure in Lebanon.
It said the strikes were ordered Saturday after "several anti-tank missile and mortar shell launches were identified from Lebanese territory toward Israel," including Israeli military posts along the Israel-Lebanon border.
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The United Nations peacekeeping force UNIFIL said its headquarters near the Lebanese coastal town of Naqoura was damaged by a shell that landed inside the base.
The Israeli army and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon have exchanged fire on a daily basis since the start of the Gaza conflict three weeks ago.
It is the biggest flare-up on the Lebanese-Israeli frontier since the two sides fought a war in 2006.
In the 2006 conflict, runways at Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport, on the southern fringe of the Lebanese capital, were hit by Israeli air strikes, along with other Lebanese infrastructure. The airport shut down at the time.
With tension climbing again, Lebanese authorities issued precautionary guidance for evacuating the airport and surrounding installations in case of emergency. But the guidance did not indicate that there was any imminent threat to the site.
The U.S. Embassy in Lebanon issued a security alert from the U.S. State Department on Friday, telling Americans in Lebanon to "leave now, while commercial flights remain available."
In Canada, the federal government delivered a similar message this week, telling Canadian citizens in Lebanon, "You should consider leaving by commercial means now, if you can do so safely."
With files from Reuters and CBC News